Glad To Be Dead?
Grave From Beyond the Grave
Glad To Be Dead?
by Donna and Jade Flack
MIM Theatre at The Hen and Chickens Theatre, then on tour until 8th October
Review by Heather Moulson
This dark-edged piece makes a bold start to the Camden Fringe. Written by mother and daughter team, Donna and Jade Flack, Glad To Be Dead? is gothic and chilling … and totally absorbing.
Long dead characters, some well-known, some not, are confined in a limbo dimension. They can look out of a window that only allows them to see so far.
On the very dark stage, Jade Flack makes a striking figure in white as Casper, the very famous young ghost created by the innovative Seymour Reit. As a lonely soul, Casper gives us an insight into this amazing artist, and displays sheer longing for a visitor playmate.
Bruce Murray, partially obscured by darkness, is an ideal Oscar Wilde; then later a Robert Louis Stevenson. Murray is a highly watchable actor, but sadly those scenes are anticlimactic compared to the strong vignettes by Jade Flack and Barbara Llewellyn.
Ms Llewelyn presents a chilling portrait of Katherine Webster, hanged in 1879. Katherine does not pretend to be a sympathetic character as she reveals her notorious crime. Clad authentically in period costume and hat, she is unrelenting in her detail. Perhaps Elizabeth Francis is portrayed as a softer character, but her betrayal of others in two witch trials did not redeem her. Third time unlucky, she was hanged in 1579.
Jade Flack’s Anne Boleyn is impressive, but one could have seen a bit more of this historical figure. However, when Flack plays Reyna Angelica Marroquin, a murder victim whose remains were found thirty years after her killing, we are strongly moved and captivated. Reyna really had a tale to tell.
Casper, full of energy and wistfulness, concludes this sharp production.
Authentic period costumes contributed by CTW and Jan Irving add to the ambience, as does very atmospheric lighting by Rebecca Lyon. The incidental sound effects are disturbing and effective.
With its cast of three, who are all highly watchable, Glad To Be Dead? has quite a tour of various fringe festivals coming up. It is a highly worthwhile production to catch if you can. You can be sure of an hour of slick writing and performance.
Heather Moulson, July 2023
Photography courtesy of MIM
Mark Aspen 